Quasi-related....Way back when I was a young Floydian I worked in a structural fab. shop. The wiring on the plug end of a welder got yanked out and one of my co-workers replaced it. After he finished, I re-connected the machine to the 3 phase 480 volt outlet. He did not understand wiring quite as well as some of we others did. Loudest pop I had heard up to that point. After correcting Frank`s error I decided to check the fuse, just knowing it was toast. Shut off the box..pulled the fuse...Un-screwed the end and out fell a length of 3/8 hot rolled round stock. End of hijack...Looking good Bob.

Quasi-related....Way back when I was a young Floydian I worked in a structural fab. shop. The wiring on the plug end of a welder got yanked out and one of my co-workers replaced it. After he finished, I re-connected the machine to the 3 phase 480 volt outlet. He did not understand wiring quite as well as some of we others did. Loudest pop I had heard up to that point. After correcting Frank`s error I decided to check the fuse, just knowing it was toast. Shut off the box..pulled the fuse...Un-screwed the end and out fell a length of 3/8 hot rolled round stock. End of hijack...Looking good Bob.

Back to Electrical... I found the same style receptacle, same manufacturer with the configuration that matches my new extension cord. Installed in about 20 minutes, changed the welder plug and now I can move the welder around the shop. Stopped and traded the receptacle back to the store for a plug for the generator and I am back to everything fits. PJ, I thought the pigtail thing was the way I was headed.... the search for an end landed me at the place that had the receptacle that would fit in my wall. So now I'm not pissed at my electrician any more

Did a little welding on the back of the car... kinda nice to move the welder around the car instead of move the car around the welder.

I've been working toward body parts, and finally figured out how we are going to get some of it done. We have a large "maker space" at Wichita State, they have a "Frog Mill"... CNC mill used to cut foam. So the first thing I'm going to try is making the nose. We have a "Step File" Pork Pie produced in CATIA to use to mill the form. I initially wanted to 3D print it with their big 3D Printer, but it actually belongs to National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) and they have it back logged with stuff to do for the next 3 months or so.

Took a couple of files Pork Pie sent to Go Create today to start making the nose plug on the Frog Mill. The guy that works with that was quite busy, so I left the files with him. Still deciding on the resin... I am using 2 lb Styrofoam. I stopped to talk with the local fiberglass supply house with a chunk of the foam in tow. He suggested Polyester... mostly because it was more reasonably priced for the same results. He said paint the foam with latex gloss until it is well coated... 2-3 coats. Based on what I am building, it is likely to not release due to the large flat surface. But he said not to worry, a high pressure washer will remove the foam, and then I could clean up anything that stuck with acetone. Still time for those decisions... any coaching from the glass pros? Back to Go Create tomorrow to see if the files I left look right.

Podunk is also at work on the Bockscar... and no Jerry, I did not send El Kabong to Terry for the picture

Went down to Go Create today for nose cutting on the Frog Mill... the plan was to cut halves with the divide down the middle, but then they changed to top and bottom... due to tooling availability...The Frog is very loud... the top was milled from a piece of foam... but the technician and I did not like the surface... A different guy set up the mill and cut processes... So we decided it needed to stay there and possibly get more work. I think the passes are too far apart for the 3/4 inch ball end mill. He wanted to discuss the process with the other guy... but said it should be smoothBut here is what we got done this morning... the swarf will stick to anything it gets close to....

Was back to work on Seat belts... the crotch strap leg belt anchor points for our 7 point harness are now in and the seat is modified to fit them.

I've been noodling the battery box... I have a plan, sort of.... but the nose support will be included in the battery support structure... so I can't really cut final pieces until the nose is done.... but I'll keep think about it

StainlessApologies if what I am suggesting is naive but you asked a couple ago about fibreglassing. I am no expert but it looks like the way I did the gravity racer could be of interest (and currently how I plan to do Squeeze of Lemming).

I used styrofoam but carved the shape by glueing blocks of the stuff to wooden formers and carved down to the wood using the edge of a hand saw to get close. Milling it would have been brilliant. I used dry wall plaster to smooth it out as its easy to sand and get a good shape / surface worked up.

I should have painted that with sealer / latex paint / pva glue as it turns out where polyester resin touches styrofoam the result looks like the superstructure of the spaceship Nostromo (iirc) when the Alien drool hit metal.

I actually wrapped with cling film (kitchen wrap) - resin doesn't stick to it but equally getting the first layer on is tricky as it slides on it initially - I used a flat sheet of ply, but window glass or flat steel might be better, to wet up maneageable sections of chopped strand and flopped them on to the shape that way for the first coat.

Once layered up to the required weight and gone off completely I then finished with a thin layer of body filler / bog. Since the shape was quite accurate there isn't much filler required other than some minor highs and lows where the top layer of f'glass isn't sanded all the way back to smooth which would be a drag. This results in a good finish to either take a mould (i.e. use as a plug) or paint and use.

Hopefully this provides a talking point as I too would like to know where the improvements could be in this reverse layup fibreglassing process.

John

Logged

A Bonneville Lakester please barman.Certainly sir; a lick of salt, a sip of gas and a twist of Lemming. More Lemming sir?Just a squeeze.

John, you can use epoxy resin with styrofoam... I tested that already.... polyester not so much... it has been suggested to use aluminum foil or cling wrap but I think painting is the way to go. I guess I will find out. Milled foam is the way I'm making plugs as of now... all I need is an accurate drawing and the CnC mill does the rest. I just have to furnish foam, the technician and Mill are included in my Go Create membership. They are playing with my nose on the Frog mill but I am buried in other commitments this weekend so I'll check them Sunday to see what they came up with.

OK, they worked on the program a little, I would say as we do more, they will get better with the Frog Mill. The very smart Kid that was running it graduated with his Mechanical Engineering degree and was immediately hired by one of the aircraft companies... so the guys are still learning... and maybe my step files need to be refined... but here is a couple of shots of the re-cut in progress.Love the stock retention equipment for this mill... yep a little duct tape. He says it the tool does an un-expected programmed departure... it will survive because there is nothing to hit.

Here are the parts. I will need to do a little sanding to finish the plug before I paint it. Found a gallon of really ugly orange semi-gloss latex paint with primer in the reject pile for $9 at the big box store. Also picked up a quart of Glidden Gripper... a primer that the internet says is the best Styrofoam glue. So I painted between the parts with it and here I am... watching paint dry... Excuse the shop... it is a mess... I think I have too much stuff

Thanks Mike... so is it practical to try to pattern the glass during lay up to avoid overlap at the seams or do I just lay it as flat as I can and then make it smooth when its done. I will probably be doing it all on male molds... like the one I have now... although the canopy and engine cover will be less than 10 inches deep so I may be able to cut female molds for those... we will see.I plan to use strips, maybe a foot or so wide and lay it up as smooth as I can. Yep, the cloth will run every direction and hopefully I can get it on without using too much resin in the mix. I have seen videos using rollers and squeegees...When I did the bike fairings I used a squeegee after I wetted it with a HF chip brush with all but about 1/2 inch of the bristles cut off.

I guess I need to decide if I use epoxy for longer working time or polyester for affordability...

In the mean time, I will be doing prep on the mold... sanding it smooth and painting it orange... pics to follow

Well I should have watched the gluing styrofoam with Glidden Gripper video again, started working on the nose... my test piece was pretty solid... well the lady said to let it dry 48 hours.... I let it dry 12... so while working it shifted a little.It has been repainted/glued and is drying again... for the next 2 days. It does look good on the front of the frame....

I enlisted Ross (MC2032) to help me weigh the old frame and the new frame... they were unbelievably close until we removed the 37 lb VW front suspension from the old one.... trying to compare apples to apples.... New one is 57 lbs heavier.... I was hopeful it would be under a 100....

Since I was waiting for the paint/glue in the nose to dry, I jumped back to the front axle. When it was all together and lined up I marked the spots where the anti-rotation set screws needed divots in the axle. Today looked like a good time, so I used a center drill to line it all up and drill pilots for the 1/4 inch ball end mill. The divot is .125 deep and the 5/16 set screws have been modified with a rounded brass tip that fits the divot.

Yes it has been quiet here... the car will not make SpeedWeek... still body building and a lot of other work to be done. I took the car to Denver for sheet metal work and then joined it last week to do fiberglass. Pictures to follow soon, a little busy right now.Yep that means I have a pre-entry to sell to you or the SCTA... I will be at SpeedWeek crewing for Ross (MC2032)